1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for measuring the characteristics of electrical elements in a packaged semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A semiconductor integrated circuit and a semiconductor device are obtained by forming electrical elements such as a transistor, a resistor and a capacitor within a wafer, and connecting them to each other to form a predetermined pattern. In the initial designing process of semiconductor devices, the characteristics of a finished product are predicted by simulation, using a model parameter for a process to be applied. Thus, the accuracy of the model parameter which is used at the early stage of designing, and which represents the electrical characteristics of electrical elements, is very important. However, generally, the dispersion of the characteristics of electrical elements increases as the integration of an integrated circuit increases.
However, in conventional systems, a method of monitoring the characteristics of electrical elements within a selected arbitrary wafer and applying the results of the monitoring to a model parameter has been used. Thus, the electrical characteristic monitored by a conventional technique cannot represent the electrical characteristics of all wafers and chips. Also, this measurement of the electrical characteristics of electrical elements in a wafer does not reflect the electrical characteristics of electrical elements in a finished packaged product. Accordingly, the dispersion of the characteristics of semiconductor devices increases. Therefore, many semiconductor devices depart from a predetermined characteristic range, resulting in the deterioration in the characteristics of semiconductor devices and the malfunction of semiconductor devices. In particular, in the case of semiconductor devices that operate fast, the probability of malfunction increases.